OLD MAN: Reflections of my failed campaign

Article content

I want to thank the distributor of my articles, Creators Syndicate, for allowing me to take eight weeks off from writing my weekly column so I can campaign to remember and replace the Governor of California. I also want to thank my readers for their patience and willingness to allow me to continue that adventure.

Article content

The revocation required that 50% plus one of the votes be cast in favor of the revocation. Replacing only required that the replacement candidate receive more votes than any other candidate. At this time, the ballots are still being counted, but the effort to impeach Governor Gavin Newsom has failed.

There were two questions on the ballot to remove the governor. Question one, do you want to call the governor? Question two, who do you want to replace you? For question number two, there were more than 40 names. I finished first by far with over 47% of the replacement votes. My closest competitor received 10%.

I entered the race late and campaigned for almost eight weeks. A Republican rival, a two-term mayor of San Diego, campaigned for a full year and got less than 9%. I seem to have raised more money than my Republican rivals put together, with the exception of one billionaire who is practically self-financing.

Article content

Unsurprisingly, the left-wing media was ruthless. A Los Angeles Times columnist called me “the black face of white supremacy.” Only in the United States can a black person become a president or a white supremacist.

Had Newsom been called, this would have been the second time Californians voted to remove their governor. But the electoral landscape the first time it happened in 2003, compared to today, is very different.

Between 2003 and 2021 there are 5% more registered Democrats, 50% more registered independents, who tend to vote Democrats, and 33% fewer Republicans. Calling an effort to impeach a Democratic governor as an uphill battle is a huge understatement.

In 2003, California Governor Gray Davis faced a retirement. The political party registration of state voters was: Democrats: 44%; GOP: 35%; Independent / Refusal to declare: 16%

Article content

In 2021, when California Governor Gavin Newsom faced a recall, the record was: Democrats: 46.5%. Republican Party: 24%, Independent / Refusal to testify: 23%

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s share of votes in 2003: 48.6%; Larry Of the old man quota in 2021 (votes are still being counted): 47%.

So why bother?

Newsom’s two-term record as governor is abysmal. During the first eight months of the coronavirus pandemic, Newsom oversaw the early release of 18,000 convicted criminals. Crime has increased dramatically. In 2020, Los Angeles homicides increased 40% from 2019. The increases were similar in San Francisco (17%), Oakland (36%) and San Diego (10%).

Homelessness has also increased dramatically. When Newsom ran for mayor of San Francisco in 2004, he vowed to end the homeless problem in that city in 10 years. Have you been to San Francisco lately?

Article content

The quality of public education in California is abysmal. Despite spending an estimated $ 20,000 per student per year, according to the California Policy Center, California public school student test scores rank near the bottom of the 50 states. Newsom, indebted to the powerful California Teachers Association, denied public school students a full year of learning at school.

Meanwhile, her own children enjoyed learning in person at her private school. Pre-pandemic, 67% of public school fourth graders were unable to read on the proficiency levels of NAEP, or the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The math scores are even worse.

Black and Hispanic parents in urban areas want school options – the right to use education money to place their student in a charter school, private school, religious school, or use the money for homeschooling – but Newsom and the teachers’ unions oppose true school choice.

California is facing a water shortage and is experiencing “continuous blackouts” due to lack of adequate investment in our power grid, and our fires are becoming increasingly severe, in part due to Newsom’s poor forest management.

So why did the withdrawal fail? More on this next week.

LarryHigher is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host and bestselling author.